A measles outbreak in South Carolina is growing rapidly, and transmission is expected to continue for weeks, officials said on Dec. 10.
“We are faced with ongoing transmission that we anticipate will go on for many more weeks, at least in our state,” Dr. Linda Bell, South Carolina’s state epidemiologist, told reporters on a call.
The outbreak, which started earlier this year, has grown to 111 cases, with 27 new cases reported since last week, officials said.
“That is a significant increase in our cases in a short period of time,” Bell said in response to a question from a reporter. “And I think accelerating is an accurate term. That is a spike in cases that we’re concerned about.”
Sixteen cases stemmed from exposure at a church called Way of Truth in Inman. Eight cases developed among people who live in households where there were known cases. Two cases were confirmed in people exposed at schools or hospitals. The source of exposure for the other case is not known at this time.
South Carolina has been encouraging people who were at locations with confirmed cases to quarantine as they wait to see whether symptoms develop.
There are currently 254 people in quarantine, including students from elementary and middle schools, and 43 students from Inman Intermediate School. Some students are being quarantined a second time after new cases were confirmed among classmates.
Another 16 people with suspected or confirmed cases are being isolated. Most of the infected are between the ages of 5 and 17. Twenty are under the age of 5.
Measles is a contagious disease that spreads through contact with infected people or air droplets that have been contaminated by infected individuals. Symptoms include a cough, high fever, and rash. A person with measles is contagious for about four days before the rash appears and four days after.
Officials are encouraging people to receive the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine, including shortly after exposure. All but six of the patients were not vaccinated when they contracted measles, according to the South Carolina Department of Public Health. Four had received one or two doses of a measles vaccine.
The United States has recorded the most measles cases this year since 1992, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention figures from the summer. The case count has since climbed to 1,912, the CDC said this week.
Other outbreaks are ongoing in Arizona, where there have recently been 22 new cases reported, and Utah, where officials have recorded 26 cases in the past three weeks.